Can Stimulants (adhd) mask hypothyroidism?

[SunshineLau]

I am on a drug known as Elvanse for ADHD. It is amphetamine based. Could it cause my TSH levels to appear lower than they actually are. TSH is 2.7.

[Angel_of_the_North]

I'm not sure but there was a study many years ago done on monkeys that showed that amphetamines raised free T4.

[MaisieGray]

Have you checked out the advisory notes in the PIL accompanying your tablets? A quick read of two different documents show:

2. What you need to know before you take Elvanse

Do NOT take Elvanse:

 if you are allergic to lisdexamfetamine or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in

Section 6)

 if you are taking a medicine called a ‘monoamine oxidase inhibitor’ (MAOI) used for depression,

or have taken an MAOI in the last 14 days

 if you have a thyroid problem

 if you feel unusually excited, over-active, or un-inhibited

 if you have ever had heart problems - such as a heart attack, uneven heartbeat, pain and discomfort

in the chest, heart failure, heart disease or were born with a heart problem

 if you have high or very high blood pressure or narrowing of the blood vessels

 if you have increased pressure in your eye (glaucoma)

Do not take Elvanse if any of the above apply to you. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or

pharmacist before you take Elvanse. This is because Elvanse can make these problems worse.

It may very well be, that with regard to hypothyroidism, the effect of "making these problems worse", can in practice, be mitigated by the simple expediency of increasing thyroid dose as necessary, but the term "thyroid problem" could presumably include hyperthyroidism too, of course. It is too imprecise to be of use. So more importantly, has your Dr mentioned anything about contraindications to you when prescribing Elvanse?

[humanbean]

I found this link on the subject of the active ingredient in Elvanse :

pdr.net/drug-summary/Vyvans...

If you search the page for the word "thyroid" it has a lot of information on the connection, but this seems to be the main paragraph worth reading. If you are hypothyroid then it is unlikely that you would be suffering from thyrotoxicosis unless you were suffering from Hashi's and going through a "hyper flare" or were overdosed on Levothyroxine :

Levothyroxine: (Moderate) Sympathomimetic amines should be used with caution in patients with thyrotoxicosis since these patients are unusually responsive to sympathomimetic amines. Based on the cardiovascular stimulatory effects of sympathomimetic drugs, the concomitant use of sympathomimetics and thyroid hormones can enhance the effects on the cardiovascular system. Patients with coronary artery disease have an increased risk of coronary insufficiency from either agent. Concomitant use of these agents may increase this risk further. In addition, dopamine at a dose of >= 1 mcg/kg/min and dopamine agonists (e.g., apomorphine, bromocriptine, levodopa, pergolide, pramipexole, ropinirole, rotigotine) may result in a transient reduction in TSH secretion. The reduction in TSH secretion is not sustained; hypothyroidism does not occur.